Excuse me Iluv, but who was the serving officer? The infant daughter,? Do you mean as the daughter of a serving officer she had a military funeral?

Sorry - no the funeral I was referring to was that of Cecilie and her family. That was the one that had a military element and Philip was there because Cecilia was his sister. Cecilie husband was a serving officer in the Germany military at the time of his death and being in the mid-30s of course he was serving in the Nazi military (not saying he necessarily was a Nazi).

I don't know if her attended the other funeral of his young neice who died I think in 1939.

Princess irenes descendants are known. Her grandaughter, Princess Barabara of Prussia married Duke Christian Ludwig of Mecklenberg Schwerin. They had two daughters, Duchess Donata who married Alexander Solodkoff and they have three children born between 89 and 94. Then there is Duchess Edwina who is married to Konrad von Posern and they have three sons.
I assume that what you meant is that she has no descendants that are in the public eye like Prince Phillip is?

Thank you Fearghas for this confirmation. I thought Irene's descendants were still around. So it appears that out of all of Princess Alice's children, the only two who still have issue living are Victoria and Irene. And one of Victoria's descendants is heir to the English throne.

Thank you Fearghas for this confirmation. I thought Irene's descendants were still around. So it appears that out of all of Princess Alice's children, the only two who still have issue living are Victoria and Irene. And one of Victoria's descendants is heir to the English throne.

Technically 2- Charles and William (if we are taking heirs and heirs of heirs)

Technically 2- Charles and William (if we are taking heirs and heirs of heirs)

I believe the heir to the throne is Charles; William is second in line to the throne. If we take your suggestion, then Victoria has many descendants who are "heirs" to the throne: Prince Philip and the Queen's four children, and their children, and their children

I believe the heir to the throne is Charles; William is second in line to the throne. If we take your suggestion, then Victoria has many descendants who are "heirs" to the throne: Prince Philip and the Queen's four children, and their children, and their children

Yes, yes of course you're right :) I guess I just take William as an heir because he will most likely definitly be king of England whereas the Queens other children probably won't- it was meant as a lighthearted comment

Yes, yes of course you're right :) I guess I just take William as an heir because he will most likely definitly be king of England whereas the Queens other children probably won't- it was meant as a lighthearted comment

I did not mean any offense. And you are right--in all likelihood, it will be Charles and then William on the throne (although I must say, with the Queen's longevity, William may have better odds than his father, but I hope Charles lives long enough to be King). My original post was meant to stress that a direct descendant of Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine is poised to be the next monarch

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that my book The Four Graces: Queen Victoria's Hessian Granddaughters is finally available on Amazon and at the Eurohistory site. I hope you'll enjoy the work!!

Hi, watching the programme about Queen Mary repeated on BBC 2 this past week I was intrigued to learn who the elderly lady is sitting on the sofa is when Prince Charles was being filmed (as a baby, held by Queen Mary), I think she's the same lady in the wedding photo of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, she's standing to the left, but not facing forward as the others in the wedding party are, wearing a long silver/grey outfit and a black hat and bag, anyone tell me who she is please, and her connection to the Royals?

Without seeing the photos specifically being referred to I would assume that the elderly lady was the Marchioness of Milford Haven - Prince Philip's grandmother and from whose apartment in Kensington Palace he left to marry Elizabeth. After the breakdown of his parents' marriage to a large extent she became his effective guardian although Lord Mountbatten, her younger son, George, 2nd Marquis of Milford Haven her elder son tended to be given more of the credit.

She, like her daughter Alice, was born in Windsor Castle. She was also the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria's second daughter Alice and thus the eldest sister of the last Tsarina of Russia, Alexandra.

Again this is based on who I would suspect would be the other elderly lady around when Prince Charles was a baby, because like Queen Mary, Victoria was his great-grandmother.

Having done a quick search for wedding photos of Elizabeth and Philip the lady in silver is most certainly Philip's maternal grandmother - as I suspected - the Marchioness of Milford Haven. She is also the lady seated on the couch opposite Queen Mary and next to Elizabeth at Charles' christening.

I'm not even sure she is in that photo. I've examined it carefully and I can't see her and none of the older ladies' clothing seem to match what I've seen her wearing in the other photos I've seen from Princess Elizabeth's wedding such as the ones iluvbertie linked to.